Couple finds cape cod in Glen Rock after last minute challenges

Two weeks before closing on a center-hall colonial in Glen Rock, Christine and Brian Dorfler found themselves outside their comfort zone. The offer on their Cape Cod had just fallen through, and they were facing the stress of carrying two mortgages.

Of course, the goal was to have both closings about the same time, but as Brian observed, "Sometimes the best-laid plans aren't the best-laid plans, and you roll with it."

Still, Christine remembers the jitters this last-minute upset had given the couple, both of whom are 38 and work in the media industry in Manhattan.

"You always think of the worst-case scenario, so it was nerve-wracking," she said. "But it all worked out and the second offer on the house was higher" at $627,000.

When their earlier buyer balked, the Dorflers reached out to their real estate agent to help them through this home-buying hurdle. The agent was on vacation. While still away, Elizabeth "Beth" Fernandez of Marron Gildea Realty of Ridgewood set the wheels in motion for an open house.

"We counted on Beth a lot and she always kept us calm," said Brian.

"She moved quickly and from the road [while on vacation] got this relisted," said Christine, leading to a better offer in terms of price and reliability.

Back on the market, the Cape sold within a single weekend in August, surprising the Dorflers with the level of interest, especially from families starting out.

Their situation raises the question: Is it a misstep to proceed with the purchase of a new home before selling your old one?

As parents of three children ranging in age from 2 to 10, the Dorflers said they decided to put school needs first and not uproot their kids into a temporary rental. They wanted to make sure they stayed in Glen Rock.

Furthermore, the Dorflers said that their move depended on finding the right house.

"There was a lot of sentimental attachment" to their former home, whose only drawback was its size.

Although they had growing pains in their Cape, they still enjoyed living there. They were in no hurry to leave, so they began searching for the ideal home to see their three children through their school years.

"We wanted an eat-in kitchen," said Christine, where the couple and their children spend much of their time, along with a finished basement that serves as a great big playroom. The built-in pool in the back yard was a bonus, as was the home's location on Romary Court, a quarter-mile from their former house and still in the same school district. Also, with young children, having all the bedrooms on the same floor was a desired change that came with the colonial.

Weighing on their decision to find a home before selling their residence was consideration of the market itself, which they thought would support the timely sale of their Cape Cod. "It was a little scary for us because we had another home to sell, but we felt the market was strong enough, and we would be OK," said Christine.

The home on Romary Court was the product of several months of serious searching. Since April the Dorflers had been on the hunt. They quickly became aware of the intense competition for homes in the Glen Rock area, so when the Romary Court address came on the market, the recommendation from Fernandez was to go in strong, which they did with a $1,190,000 offer — above the $1,185,000 asking price.

As Christine said, "We didn't want to go crazy because the market didn't demand prices way above, but we wanted to have a strong offer."

Beyond finances, the couple tried to appeal to the sellers by writing a letter, sharing their love for the community and why they wanted to stay and raise their family there. The sellers also had raised their children in Glen Rock, and the Dorflers thought this could help put them ahead of the other bidders.

Buying a home is a "business transaction but it's a personal transaction. They were leaving their home where they had lived for 17 years and raised their family," said Christine. She gave the letter a lot of weight that ended with their closing on Aug. 14, in time to try out their new pool.